Special Issue - PMI India National Conference 2014, Hyderabad. Volume 5 Issue 10
Contents
Managing Editor
Raj Kalady
PMI India Communications
Priya Awasare
Publication Project Team
CyberMedia Services Limited (CMSL)
Marketing Communications Division
Project Editor
Panchalee Thakur
Project Manager
Shipra Abraham
Props with catchy slogans add some fun as delegates take their turn at the
conference photo booth
3
Letter from Managing Director, PMI India
4
Letter from Conference Chair
5
Conference Overview
7
Keynotes
11
13
PMI Awards
Case Studies
16
Early Bird Session
17
Interview
18
Panel Discussion
19
Technical Papers
22
What Delegates Have to Say
24
Photo Gallery
PMI Global Congress 2015—EMEA
Registration is NOW OPEN!
You can register for PMI® Global Congress 2015 - EMEA and benefit from early fee reductions.
Attend and develop the skills and know-how you need to be successful in your projects.
Impart knowledge . . . receive recognition . . . share success . . . submit a speaker/presentation
proposal for PMI® Global Congress 2015 - EMEA.
a.
The Call for Papers deadline is 11 November 2014.
b.
Registration – early bird rates available now!
For more details: http://www.pmi.org/Learning/professional-development/
Congress-PMI-Global-Congresses/EMEA-2015.aspx
2
October 2014
Design
Shilpi Bhargava
Web Design
CMSL developer team
PMI Organization Centre Private Limited
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Phone
+91 22 2659 8659
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E-mail
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www.pmi.org.in
Conference Overview
Gathering at Project Management National Conference 2014, PMI India
Mobile App
Quiz
A conference mobile app was used as a successful delegate
engagement platform in last year’s PMI India national
conference. This year also, many delegates downloaded
the mobile app. Rolled out to aid pre-event branding,
facilitate networking among delegates well before the
event, and organize paperless contests, the app was easily
one of the talked about innovations at the conference.
With a livewire quizmaster testing contestants and the
audience on project management trivia and cryptic
anagrams, and a “practical round” in which contestants
tried their project management skills to build a tower
with spaghetti and paper cups, the much awaited quiz
made for an entertainment and action-packed evening.
Delegates used the app to post photos to participate
in the “selfie contest”, besides using it for the quiz,
posting questions to speakers, and providing conference
feedback. They could view speaker profiles, mark the
sessions they planned to attend, and take notes on each
session using the app. It also came with a handy map,
chat options with other delegates, and receive instant
notifications on the conference.
Photo Booth
What India Gate is to New Delhi, Gateway of India is
to Mumbai, Charminar is to Hyderabad. A larger than
life poster of this stunning 16th century edifice made a
befitting backdrop for the photo booth at the conference.
“The idea behind the photo booth is to give each delegate
a personalized gift as a reminder of the event,” said Mr.
Ravi Vurakaranam, conference director. And sure enough,
it was a star attraction as delegates made a beeline during
each break. Almost every delegate availed of the photo
booth coupon.
Adding to the novelty of the photo booth were lifesize cup and spoon shaped placards, reminiscent of
Hyderabad’s famous Irani chai, bearing pithy messages
that any project manager would relate to. Here are some
placards one could choose from: “Manage projects without
spoonfeeding”, “There’s always a storm in the project
manager’s teacup”, “Dishing out project management best
practices”, or “Many a slip between the cup and the lip”.
6
October 2014
Held on the last day of the conference, the quiz saw
four three-member teams battle it out for the numero
uno position. Team Rockers, comprising Mr. Kshitij
Srivastava, Mr. Maruti Penubothu, and Mr. Sanjib Das,
won the contest; the prize was a Samsung tablet each.
Contestants were selected on the basis of their scores
on a preliminary round conducted via the mobile app.
Overall, 200-plus delegates participated and more than
800 responses were received on the app.
Quizmaster and former Chennai chapter president,
Mr. Karthik Ramamurthy, and PMI volunteers, Mr.
Uday Kiran and Mr. Koushik Srinivasan, designed and
executed the selection process. Mr. Ramamurthy said,
“Questions posed through the app included some visuals
to ensure finalists were those with knowledge rather than
just Googling skills! To recognize speed and knowledge,
earliest responses were given more weightage. Finalists
were chosen based both on total weighted points as well
as maximum questions answered.” In all, 12 finalists and
six standbys were picked.
Mr. Ramamurthy designed the quiz with help from board
members of PMI chapters in India. The quizzing team
included Mr. Koushik Srinivasan as the score keeper, Mr.
Sriram Raghavan as the timekeeper, and Mr. Rajasekhar
Ravichandra as the evaluator for the practical round.
(With contributions from Renuka Rane)
Keynotes
Ricardo Triana
It takes just a little extra to reach one’s goals – a little extra speed for
Olympic glory, an extra degree of heat for boiling water to turn to steam,
or a little extra commitment to reach project success.
Mr. Ricardo Triana, director, Chair 2014 PMI Board of Directors,
implored practitioners to commit themselves to an extra degree in
whatever they do. “It could be an hour spent with your children at home
or an hour of volunteering, but that little extra degree of commitment
will make a difference in your personal or professional life,” he said.
As the demand for project management skills grows in the coming
years, project managers will benefit by investing a little more on their
career. PMI’s industry growth forecast between 2010 and 2020 says that
15.7 million new project management roles will be created globally
across seven different industries.
“For new projects to take off, the real problem is not money but people.
Organizations and practitioners need to prepare to match skills with
requirements. The economy is changing and you have to be prepared
for any eventuality. Avoid a situation where when reality comes to the
door, plan jumps through the window,” Mr. Triana said. There will
be increased competition among countries and companies to acquire project talent. A lot will also depend on how
organizations develop talent. He recommends talent management programs through training and development, welldefined career paths for project managers, integrated career management across the organization, and measurement
of such initiatives.
He quoted the HOPE (Hands-on Project Experience) Project of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
and the training and inter-personal skills development initiatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Government of
Chile, as fine examples of how organizations can nurture project management skills in-house.
Technical, inter-personal, and business skills formed the “talent triangle”. “Besides technical competency, the
next generation project manager must focus on strategic and business management, leadership, and communication
skills,” Mr. Triana added.
N. V. S. Reddy
As the head of the world’s largest metro rail system in the making
through the public private partnership (PPP) mode, there are bound to
be as many brickbats as bouquets. Mr. N. V. S. Reddy, managing director,
Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd., gracefully accepted the tag of the “culprit
causing traffic jams” in Hyderabad as he took the podium to deliver his
keynote.
“I failed in my first project. We lost significant time in the first two
years. But now we have made up the time lag and may complete the
project before time,” Mr. Reddy said. The first phase of Hyderabad
metro rail will cover 72 km across three corridors and is expected to be
operational by March 2015.
“When I wanted to build Hyderabad metro through the PPP mode,
there was a lot of opposition. Even my guru, Mr. E. Sreedharan (the man
behind Delhi metro), didn’t agree with my business model. But I was
confident and persisted. There were allegations of scams, protests by
traders and environmentalists…it was demoralizing,” he recalled.
Labelling the metro rail project as a saga of grit, guts and gumption, he presented newspaper clippings screaming
allegations and questioning delays. “Seeing all these reports, one day my wife asked me why I don’t follow what others are
October 2014
7
Keynotes
saying. I told her we just need to be patient. Slowly, as I had predicted, a positive mood started building,” Mr. Reddy said.
As the project finally took off, it garnered support and recognition. Last year, it won the best engineering project of
the year award at the annual Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum conference in New York.
Closer home, community support picked up as Mr. Reddy’s team put in effort for consensus building among
stakeholders. He countered the allegations of environmentalists by translocating trees in large numbers. He formed
bicycle clubs for easy access to metro stations. The gigantic pillars for the elevated tracks are designed in such a way
that they go well with the city’s architecture. For every religious structure that was removed, people were assured that
the organization would build a bigger and better structure.
“We are creating something unique for Hyderabad that will rejuvenate the city, promote pedestrianization and
cycling, and provide open spaces near metro stations for families to enjoy,” added Mr. Reddy.
Ramesh Iyer
A wedding date once finalized is non-negotiable, and everyone in the family
works in such a way that all the activities for that project are concluded
on time. Can’t organizations consider their project completion day as an
auspicious wedding day and go all out to complete it on time?
With this poser, Mr. Ramesh Iyer, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra
Financial Services Ltd., highlighted the importance of completing projects
on time, and the rise in frustration among people if a project goes into time
overrun. “Project management is a unique way of creating something, be it
a product, a process, or achieving a result. You need to clearly identify that
one fundamental factor. People are the other important aspect of a project.
Best talent is not just about experience but also the right skills and attitude
to manage a project,” he said.
Mr. Iyer, a firm believer of analyzing failure and learning from it, feels
organizations must talk about project failures so that others don’t make the
same mistakes. “Success could get you into bad habits, whereas failure gets
you to learn and change. Take joint and equal responsibility not only while
creating a project ecosystem but also when things don’t turn out well,” he said.
Empowerment of people is a key ingredient for project success. When managers say they empower their people,
they must truly honor it. Illustrating how empowerment can be practiced, he said, “In our business, the sales team
deals with cash. If a sales person calls the manager to tell that the cash has been stolen, the manager must connect
with the person on an emotional level (instead of questioning the veracity of the claim). Your questions must be
supportive and enable the individual to go to the next level of execution.”
He advised project managers to be open-minded and develop strong communication skills. According to Mr. Iyer,
in a project manager’s world, the true meaning of ‘impact’ is integrity, mannerism, passion, attitude, communication,
and teamwork.
“Keep checking your relevance in the market. Skills that were relevant earlier are not relevant today,” he added.
V. V. S. Laxman
When Mr. V. V. S. Laxman, former Indian cricketer, walked in to speak at the tail-end of the conference, he was
reminded of “the fifth day of a test match that is heading to a draw”. But in no time he energized the audience with
stories from his childhood, the cricket field, and the players’ dressing room.
“I made a plan to achieve my goals within a set timeframe; I continued to monitor my performances; and I adjusted
my plan and game according to my coaches’ reviews. I implemented these principles in my life, though I didn’t know
about (project management),” Mr. Laxman said.
As a child, he wanted to follow in his parents’ footsteps and join the medical profession. At the age of 17, as he
8
October 2014
Keynotes
was about to join medical school, his uncle and mentor convinced his
parents that they must give him a chance to try out cricket as a profession.
“Cricket was not a professional career then. But my parents let me choose
cricket though people questioned their decision,” he said.
The profession didn’t accept him so readily and he faced many
disappointments. During that phase, notes of encouragement from his
parents helped him see through the tough times.
“My parents told me it’s not the profession that glorifies me, but I glorify
my profession. They also presented me Thus Spake Swami Vivekananda.
Swami Vivekananda said, ‘Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life
- think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves,
every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea
alone. This is the way to success.’”
Mr. Laxman stayed true to his belief, and at the age of 22, he wore the
Indian team cap for the first time. “But I wasn’t able to establish myself in
the team (for a long time). I did a lot of introspection. I decided to invest in
myself, through coaches and sessions on neuro-linguistic programming,” recalled the former cricketer.
He finally made his mark in 2001. “Pride is an important ingredient for success. It is a personal commitment to get
ahead of your own obstacles,” he said.
Stating that former cricket Sourav Ganguly was the best captain he played under, Mr. Laxman said, “A good leader
is the starting point for every company. When playing for your country, you are under a lot of pressure. Having a good
coach is important for team development, one who can change the mindset of the team members, and make them
empathize with each other even though they are competitors.”
Alyque Padamsee
Theater personality and advertising film maker Alyque Padamsee put
his audience engaging skills to good use as he took delegates on a short
journey through current politics, literature, and history to enunciate
unique qualities in leaders.
“The good news about our country is that 50 percent of our population
is under the age of 25, which means we have youth on our side. But the bad
news is that 50 percent of our netas (politicians) are over the age of 70,”
he said.
The audience chimed in as he likened Shakespearean characters
to modern-day politicians – Dr. Manmohan Singh as King Lear who
wouldn’t retire, Mr. Rahul Gandhi as Hamlet who couldn’t make up his
mind, and Mr. Narendra Modi as Macbeth who was highly ambitious.
“The qualities that Shakespeare gave his leaders apply to this day,” he
observed.
Mr. Padamsee said a leader must have the dynamic qualities of vision,
charisma, courage, empathy, delegation, feedback, and motivation. For
a leader with vision, he asked delegates to look no further than Mr.
Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister, Andhra Pradesh, for his pioneering
efforts towards e-governance. The leaders he ranked high on charisma are former US president Bill Clinton, Hindi
film star Amitabh Bachchan, and spiritual leader Osho. For courage, he spoke about former prime minister Indira
Gandhi; for delegation, it was former US president J. F. Kennedy; and for motivation, Singapore’s first prime minister
Lee Kuan Yew.
“While leaders cannot always please people and risk being unpopular, fear is not a good motivator. Feedback is
another important quality for a leader. Mrs. Gandhi lost the general elections after the emergency in the mid-70s, and the
primary reason for this was that she didn’t take feedback and hence, did not learn (what was going wrong),” he explained.
October 2014
9
Keynotes
Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami
Clothed in a saffron robe and carrying a staff, Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami opened
his session with a chant before moving on to some simple, modern-day mantras
for project management.
“Everything in life is a project, be it managing a multi-million dollar
enterprise or a humble household. As a Telugu saying goes, an elephant has a
problem of its own size and an ant also has a problem of its own size,” said the
Vedic preacher and founder of Jeeyar Educational Trust.
When planning a wedding, family members do not get nor expect any
compensation yet they feel a sense of joy and gladly do the tasks involved.
On the other hand, when managing a project at work, rewards and payoffs are
expected and doled out, yet not all projects succeed.
“At the level of the home, your spirit, love and sharing come into play −
everything comes from within. The people who conduct a wedding and those
who partake of it are happy. How can you achieve the same result in a work
environment? By being involved not just with your hands and mind but also with your heart and soul. When the heart
and soul are put into the work at hand, we call it spirituality,” he said.
Swamiji shared videos of the philanthropic work undertaken by the Jeeyar Educational Trust. He explained how
their various missions have become a reality because of the heartfelt efforts of individuals who came forward and
helped in various capacities.
Imploring all present to be spirit-centred in their activity and approach, Swamiji said, “Let the bottom-line and
top-line of your projects always be enriched with spirituality. Drop the ‘t’ that causes tension from management,
so you ‘manage men’! Serve all beings as service to God, not just man alone, for your very existence depends on
their survival.”
Alok Lall
How does an organization stay true to the vision it set out to achieve? With a
multiplicity of devices and platforms, how do you ensure people have access to
a single version of the truth? Mr. Alok Lall, business group director, Microsoft
Office Department, enumerated ways in which an organization can leverage
existing technologies and drive growth to achieve project success. “New age
project managers are well aware that what they did in the past may not work now.
They need to look at the periphery when shaping the project vision,” he said.
Drawing from the success of Microsoft Project Online, an online solution
for project portfolio management, Mr. Lall emphasized the ability to deliver
value from virtually anywhere, and on any device. Project managers need a
comprehensive toolset, accessibility across devices, work mobility, transcend
hierarchies, and move to the cloud.
Communication and collaboration with teams online or via social media
is the norm today. Connecting virtually also presents great opportunities for
driving training and capability transfers. “Run the social media environment in an integrated manner and not as a
silo. Build an environment where people can participate freely, and give their ideas freely. Crowd source the ideas −
they can be from employees, clients, or partners,” he explained.
Another way to create impact is by using your data and your insights to make your reports personal. Mr. Lall added,
“Present your data in the right format and in the right way, deliver it intuitively using familiar tools, via social media
or virtual collaboration, so it is easy for decision makers to interpret.” A project manager can thus gear up to play an
integral role as an anchor in multi-disciplinary scenarios, be it innovation management, app lifecycle management or
collaborative lifecycle management.
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October 2014
PMI India Awards 2014
Congratulations!
Project of the Year – Large
Winner: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T)
Project: P
rocess cum Living Quarters Platform
L&T completed this offshore project for Gujarat
State Petroleum Corporation ahead of schedule
within 21 months. The project clocked in incidentfree human hours of 4.1 million.
Mr. Ricardo Triana (second from right) presenting the trophy to the team from
Larsen and Toubro
Project of the Year – Large
Runner Up: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T)
Project: M
angalore Aromatics Complex (MARC) project
It is the largest single train paraxylene complex in India and
one of the largest globally. The completed project has set a
number of benchmarks in project management in India.
Project of the Year – Medium
Winner: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
Project: B
utadiene Extraction Project, Panipat Naphtha Cracker
With no cost or time overrun, and accident-free construction,
this project marks IOCL’s first venture into the production of
synthetic commercial rubber.
October 2014
11
PMI India Awards 2014
Project of the Year – Medium
Runner Up: Grasim Industries (Aditya Birla Group)
Project: G
reenfield Epoxy Project, Vilayat
The project was completed successfully inspite of damage to
the plant after flash floods. There were no fatal accidents or
time lost due to incidents.
Project of the Year – Small
Winner: NTPC
Project: 5
MWp Solar PV Project at Port Blair,
Andaman & Nicobar
The project is located in a faraway island and
necessitated multi-mode logistics and the mobilization
of resources from the mainland. Inspite of several
challenges, the project fulfilled the time, cost, and
quality parameters, and recorded a zero-accident
construction phase.
Project of the Year – Non Government
Organization
Winner: The Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on
Relief (EFICOR)
Project: P
arivartan Child Survival Project
Through this project, EFICOR has helped reduce mortality
among mothers, newborns, and children under the age of five.
Project of the Year Contribution to Community
Winner: National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)
Project: Skilling India Project
Aimed at creating a skilled workforce to cater to the country’s
needs, particularly in the power industry, NTPC has adopted 17
government industrial training institutes near its plants, upgraded
the infrastructure, and taken up the responsibility of developing
skilled technicians.
12
October 2014
Case Studies
Setting
I ndia
up
Daimler Operations
in
— Parthasarathy Thota, chief financial officer, Daimler
India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.
After having entered the Indian market through
partnerships, first with the Tata Group and then Hero
Motors, Daimler set out on its own in 2008. The following
year, Daimler India became a 100 percent subsidiary of
its parent company in Germany. Since then, the company
has steadily grown its business in the domestic and
export market.
“Daimler India has introduced to the Indian and export
market a unique product from India, Bharat Benz, which
is designed and manufactured in India with 85 percent
of the components locally sourced,” Mr. Thota said.
Bharat Benz caters to
the needs of Indian
truckers and marks
a break in Daimler’s
150-year-old tradition
of global products for
global requirements.
Mr. Thota sought to
negate the perception
that
products
manufactured in India
lack quality and that it
is difficult for a multinational
company
to set up operations
in India on its own.
“India has huge talent.
Our local engineers
took the early stage
drawings from our parent company and completely
evolved the trucks to suit local conditions. Our experience
also shows that you don’t need partnerships to enter the
Indian market. In spite of corruption, you can stick to
your principles, be patient, allow for extra time in your
project schedule, and make it happen in India. We didn’t
pay a single penny to anybody nor did we go through
agents to get approvals; we had to get 36 approvals in
all,” he explained.
Managing M ergers and Acquisitions
in a P rojectized W ay
— Viq Pervaaz, senior vice president and
chief project officer, Aon M&A Solutions
As delegates were settling down for this post-lunch
session, Mr. Viq Pervaaz decided to give them a simple
exercise to pull them out of their stupor and at the
same time, demonstrate the realities of mergers and
acquisitions (M&As).
He asked delegates
from one half of the
hall to move to the
other half, and vice
versa.
“What
you
experienced just now
is what organizations
experience
in
an
M&A
–
chaos,
confusion, unfamiliar
circumstances,
and
unfamiliar faces,” he
explained.
For the next 45
minutes, Mr. Pervaaz
took the delegates
through the basics of
M&A in an interactive manner. M&As are of four basic
types – acquisition, merger, divesture, and joint venture.
But why do organizations choose to do M&A? There can
be many drivers such as better synergy between two
companies in terms of skills and other capabilities, better
financial strength, access to new markets, access to new
capabilities, and higher competitiveness.
He got the audience thinking when he asked “Does two
plus two always equal to four?” As he collected responses
from the audience, he replied, “In the business of M&A,
where we are looking for value creation, the mathematical
certainty of the sum doesn’t apply.”
Whatever be the driver of an M&A, certain basics
need to be remembered. “The M&A must be anchored in
strategy. The focus must be on people in the organizations.
The organizations must get the communication right so
that the objectives of the M&A are clear to everybody,”
he concluded.
T he Energy
and R esources
I nstitute
(TERI) –
E xtending
S olar L ighting
in S elected
I ndian S tates
— Kishore Kumar
Chaudhary, senior
manager – social
transformation
division, Teri
To solve the problem of frequent electricity cuts and poor
quality of supply in Indian villages, TERI has started a
program to provide solar power to these villagers. The
October 2014
13
Case Studies
program has gathered significant momentum and has so
far covered 2,500 villages in 22 states.
management and risk management. It also helped manage
changes effectively,” said Mr. Kumar Rudra.
The initiative, which won PMI India Project of the
Year – Non Government Organization 2013 award, has
gone through several changes to accommodate new
requirements, new research by TERI, and market feedback.
Safety features included daily “tool box talk”, special
safety briefings, monthly reviews and work site visits
by senior management, rewards and recognition for safe
working practices, and regular training.
“Our prime focus is to provide house lighting. The
added benefits are reduced pollution inside the house
from kerosene lamps, increased business for local traders
who can now keep their shops open for longer hours in
the evening, and new sources of income for village-level
entrepreneurs,” said Mr. Kishore Kumar Chaudhary.
L&T tied in its technical, commercial, and project
management capabilities together to deliver the mega
project. Project management provided the project team
the ability to conduct effective interface management
across project phases and activities, and among the
various stakeholders. L&T’s matrix organization is
guided by PMI’s A Guide to Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)®. The project team identified
40 major risks, maintained a risk register, and reviewed
and monitored the risks through the project lifecycle.
The program is a fine example of growing reach and
sustainability. A household gets solar equipment at a
subsidized rate. Village entrepreneurs are encouraged to
set up solar charging stations for these equipment. Now
TERI is also installing solar panels in homes. “Partnerships
with local social organizations have helped us extend
the program to so many villages across the country. We
conduct awareness programs in villages. We also give
inputs to manufacturers on product development based
on our research,” said Mr. Chaudhary.
Larsen & T oubro (L&T): The Mumbai
High North Process Platform and
Living Quarters
— Kumar Rudra, project director, L&T
The Mumbai High
North project by L&T,
that won the PMI India
Project of the Year
(Large) 2013 award, is
a $1.1 billion offshore
project that comprised
construction
of
a
process platform, a
living quarter platform
to accommodate 150
people,
two
flare
tower platforms, three
process gas compressor
modules, and other
modifications
for
Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC).
The highly complex
project was completed
in two phases of
19.5 months and 33
months, respectively.
“Project management was an important part to
ensure safety, build capabilities, and conduct interface
14
October 2014
G amification
of
Project Management
— Madu Ratnayke, senior vice president,
Virtusa, Sri Lanka
Millennials
are
known for their
low
engagement
levels, irreverence
for work rules and
hierarchy,
and
familiarity of new
technologies
and
devices. Virtusa has
deployed a solution
in the organization
that helps boost
motivation
levels
and
performance
of millennials by
combining
work
goals with gaming
features
through
social media.
“Millennials may
be part of an exciting
project but if their
role in that project
is
not
exciting,
they will not continue in that role. When it comes to
hierarchy, they have no inhibitions. If a millennial has
no access to seniors in office, he/she will seek them out
in social media; everybody is equal in social media,” said
Mr. Ratnayke.
Virtusa has introduced gamification as part of project
management through which each employee can create
a unique social identity at the workplace, join online
discussions, share and learn, collaborate, track his/
her performance against others in the team, seek out
Case Studies
help for specific problems, and enjoy recognition for
achievement. “Gamification in project management
creates engaged employees and engaged customers,” he
said. Virtusa uses a variety of social media, mobility,
cloud, and collaboration tools to create this unique and
fun millennial user experience at the workplace.
Rolling out IT Modernization
Projects in Department of P osts
— Ganesh Sawaleshwarkar, nodal officer,
Department of Posts, Government of India
As the man in
khaki
delivering
mail on bicycles
starts fading from
our memories, the
department of posts
is looking for new
ways to re-enter our
lives. The 160-yearold
organization
that has the world’s
largest network with
155,000 post offices
across the country
is modernizing itself
and introducing new
services to bring in
more customers.
At the core of the
transformation
of
the postal network
are IT modernization
projects. The program which began in 1992 has so far fully
modernized 25,000 post offices. It all started with the
computerization of standalone counters in post offices. In
1997, modernization of the savings wing began. In 2002,
the department introduced end-to-end tracking of speed
posts. By 2008, all post offices were computerized.
The department has seen decline in mail but has
seen growth in its parcel business, postal life insurance
schemes, and savings schemes, and e-commerce is taking
off.
“We are doing a solution re-architecture to integrate
all our business verticals, re-engineering our business
processes, digitizing the records of over 70 lakh employees,
training over five lakh employees, and conducting
knowledge transfer on a large scale,” elaborated Mr.
Ganesh Sawaleshwarkar. The department is employing
project management to plan, deploy, monitor, and review
progress of this on-going initiative.
M aking of Terminal 2,
M umbai A irport
— Pradeep Sangal, general manager,
Mumbai International Airport Ltd.
The new terminal
at
the
Mumbai
international airport is
the first project in the
country where a new
and enhanced facility
was built around an
existing, operational
airport.
“This was the most
constrained
airport
construction in India.
It pushed us to look for
innovative solutions
at every stage,” said
Mr. Pradeep Sangal.
GVK, along with other
partners, built the new
terminal under a public
private
partnership
and
continues
to
manage it.
At the time GVK
started construction,
only two-third of the
land was available and the rest was encroached by slums.
It took the consortium one year to develop the master
plan.
“We overcame the space constraint with innovative
designs such as vertical gardens, a vertical car park, and
elevated roads. We couldn’t disrupt services during the
construction phase,” he added. For runway extension
work, the authorities allowed the runway to be shut down
for six hours a week. Around 1,000 workers would stand
by so that work could begin immediately and the runway
handed over a little after five hours for test runs.
“Team work, stakeholder management, innovative
techniques, collaborative planning and progressive
elaboration, interface management, fast decision-making,
and change management were some important project
management features of this project,” added Mr. Sangal.
These helped GVK to conduct the final transition of
the old facilities to the new terminal in five hours.
October 2014
15
Early Bird Session
Setting up a Project Management Office
(for Project, Program, and Portfolio Management)
P. Seenivasan
It was a four-hour workshop to initiate early bird conference
registrants into the basics behind setting up a project
management office (PMO).
Mr. P. Seenivasan, who conducted the workshop, provided
participants an overview of different types of PMOs, the
need for an integrated, enterprise-wide PMO (EMPO), the
various elements of an EPMO, and approaches to setting it
up. Through a knowledge session and hands-on activities,
delegates got a flavor of the challenges that an organization
faces while setting up an EPMO and the strategic drivers that
the organization must anchor the EPMO in.
Mr. Seenivasan explained an EPMO as an entity that
standardizes portfolio, program, and project governance
processes, facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies,
tools and techniques, and builds and sustains business value
by strengthening delivery capabilities across the enterprise.
Whether it is project, program, or portfolio management, the
EPMO provides the necessary framework to work closely with
the organization’s operations to drive strategic alignment,
stakeholder engagement, governance, and business value.
Participants did a group exercise in which they prioritized
and recommended initiatives that a fictitious electronics
company needed to undertake to drive growth within a fixed
budget and timeline. Groups of delegates made presentations
on the right mix of projects that the company must initiate,
aligned to its strategic objectives, current capabilities, and
budget and time constraints.
Following this, Mr. Seenivasan invited a team to use Oracle
Primavera to map their recommendations to set goals, create
‘what if’ scenarios to come up with the best available options,
and make the final recommendations.
In the second activity, delegates developed the vision for
a program for the same fictitious company, identified its
strategic objectives, and listed out a set of measurable benefits
of the program. Complete with a list of metrics and assigned
value for each benefit, ways to measure and report such
benefits, and project and operations enablers to realize those
benefits, participants got a hands-on experience of program
management in the workshop.
(Mr. P. Seenivasan is director, Proventures)
Mr. Seenivasan interacting with workshop participants during a group activity
16
October 2014
Interview
Inculcating Entrepreneurial Skills within the Team
Mr. Srinivas Kopparapu, president, PMI Pearl City Chapter, in conversation with Hyderabad’s serial
entrepreneurs and co-founders of Intergraph India, D. E. Shaw, and ADP India on their journey together.
Mr. Ganesh Sellakannu, director, ADP Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Thiagarajan Arunachalam, former director, ADP Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Kopparapu: How was project management instrumental in
sustaining growth in the organizations that you worked with?
Mr. Shakti Sagar, managing director, ADP Pvt. Ltd.
Mr. Sellakannu: The running theme for us was to continue
planning and make it happen.
Mr. Kopparapu: Your journey began in the 1980s when the
software industry was not in focus. What triggered your move
to software?
Mr. Arunachalam: New ventures require a lot of planning.
One cannot take anything off the ground without project
management. Every time I had a new idea, I made a PERT
(program evaluation and review technique) chart.
Mr. Sagar: In 1984, we worked on an automatic
ledger posting machine (ALPM) for the banking
industry. That’s when the idea to come up with
independent software products took root. In 1986,
we started developing software products. But it
was very difficult those days. To get the cash flow
going, we also undertook data entry type of jobs.
Mr. Arunachalam: We believed even in those
early days that Hyderabad had the potential and
we stuck to it. We also believed that software was
the ‘in’ thing. Though I have moved on to social
work now, at heart I’m still a programmer. We
looked for opportunities all the time.
Mr. Sellakannu: At the time, the market was
hardware and capital intense, and the quality of
manpower was also good.
Mr. Kopparapu: How did you incorporate project
management in your work?
Mr. Srinivas Kopparapu (extreme left) with Mr. Shakti Sagar, Mr. Thiagarajan
Arunachalam, and Mr. Ganesh Sellakannu
Mr. Arunachalam: Project management became an integral
part of our work when we started working with banks. We
started to improvise on solutions as we went. We were doing a
mix of agile and waterfall techniques in project management,
but we didn’t know it as that at the time. Later Intergraph
introduced us to project management.
Mr. Sagar: Getting the contract from Intergraph, a US company,
to set up a center in Hyderabad was our first initiation into
project management. That lit the fire in our belly, and we
started from ground zero. We got the opportunity, we had to
deliver.
Mr. Kopparapu: Give us some examples of how you planned
for something and something else turned out.
Mr. Arunachalam: Plans don’t fail; people fail to plan.
Yes, we did go by the opportunity (even if the plan was
something else). To deliver, we had to keep adapting to new
scenarios.
Mr. Sagar: Once things are stabilized and you have a buoy,
your planning process is different. Nine years after setting up
Intergraph, we were approached by D. E. Shaw, another US
organization, to set up their India subsidiary in Bangalore. We
debated whether we could do it all over again. We took the
opportunity and convinced D. E. Shaw to set up operations
in Hyderabad.
Mr. Sellakannu: Back then, status reporting was not
practiced. Nevertheless, Mr. Arunachalam would ask us for
weekly reports on projects whether the client had asked for it
or not. This provided structure and others could infer easily
from this framework.
Mr. Sagar: Undoubtedly, framework is great but flexibility is
the key. You have to be flexible and adapt to every situation
and be able to modify a dynamic plan.
Mr. Arunachalam: I would send consolidated reports to the
client every week. Once a client told me that he would never
read my reports but the fact that I sent the report assured him
that work was progressing.
Mr. Kopparapu: During your journey, how did you take your
employees and colleagues along?
Mr. Arunachalam: Just like our children, our colleagues
don’t do what we say but do what we do. Colleagues need to
develop trust. Our values have been our big thing.
Mr. Sellakannu: We don’t need to manage resources. We just
need to lead them. This is where the fundamental shift occurred.
Mr. Sagar: When we moved from Intergraph to D. E. Shaw,
the primary challenge was competing for the same human
capital. Often, leaders make the grave mistake of game
playing politics. Be open and transparent. Trust is the key to
being truly successful.
October 2014
17
Panel Discussion
Institutionalizing Project Management in the Government Realm
Mr. Jayesh Rajan, IAS, commissioner,
industries, commerce and export
promotion, Government of Telangana
Mr. Hariranjan Rao, IAS, secretary,
information technology and public
service management, Government of
Madhya Pradesh
Dr. Sanjeevan Bajaj, CEO, Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) Quality Forum
Moderator: Mr. Sanjib Das, senior
director and head - service delivery,
Ericsson India
Mr. Sanjib Das (extreme left) moderating the discussions between Mr. Jayesh Rajan, Mr.
Hariranjan Rao, and Dr. Sanjeevan Bajaj
Mr. Das: Data shows that in India, 50-60 percent of projects
have budget or time overrun. According to McKinsey,
India could suffer a GDP loss of $200 billion by 2017 if
trends continue. What immediate steps are needed to
correct this scenario?
Mr. Rajan: There is no arm in the government today that
doesn’t think project management is not needed. There
are a lot of gaps in execution. We need to put greater
reliance on public private partnerships (PPP). There are
two important features in PPP projects. Sometimes we are
so anxious to get projects off the ground that half-baked
proposals get passed. Lack of coordination is the second
problem. Sometimes a project gets stuck because there is
no agreement on clauses that need to be amended later.
We need the right business acumen to relook at clause
changes.
Nobody is held accountable in the government; this has
to change.
Mr. Das: Mission mode projects for e-governance are wellstructured and linked to public service management. How
can that approach be extended to other projects?
Mr. Rao: The implementation of mission mode projects is
unique in Madhya Pradesh where a complete institutional
overhauling is being carried out. We are hiring IT
professionals from the market, many of which are PMP®
certified, and offering compensation on par with that
of the private sector. Government employees are being
sent for the PMP® certification. Even the lowest level
government functionary should be able to appreciate the
nuances of project management.
Mr. Das: What do we need to stop, change, and continue?
Dr. Bajaj: Projects are sometimes planned, stopped,
and executed. In the private sector, there is widespread
realization that you need project management credentials,
and clients insist on PMP® certifications for project
managers, whereas there is no such emphasis in government
undertakings. It is assumed that a good administrator will
also make a good project manager.
Mr. Rao: Government projects are badly structured, and
designed to get delayed. There is a lack of dedicated
project management teams, less flexibility to hire
manpower, and inadequate use of IT and tools. Typically,
government contracts are straitjacketed; there is a need
to look at international best practices and standardize
documents. The entire decision-making process needs to
be re-engineered and processes have to be streamlined.
18
October 2014
Mr. Rajan: Project delays are causing us a national loss.
We must replicate the good work that another department
has done, for example, what Mr. Rao has done in Madhya
Pradesh. We must institutionalize a mechanism to learn
and adopt.
Dr. Sanjeevan: The principles in international best
practices, rather than the practice itself, must be
replicated. For instance, the Delhi Metro is an exemplary
project, and the goal should be how to replicate it in a
different context.
Mr. Rao: We have to start thinking differently, stop
procrastinating, and continue with the efforts… the results
will accrue.
Technical Papers
Winner
Adopting Latest Advances in the Field of Psychology for
Effective Project Management
Adopting Latest Advances in the Field of
Psychology for Effective Project Management
was awarded the best technical paper at the
conference. Mr. Ramanand Garimella, Mr. Lakshmi
Varagan D., and Mr. Debabrata Pruseth from Tata
Consulting Services (TCS) Limited authored the
paper. The team identified the human challenges
in project management and used recommendations
from psychological concepts to draw a solution
framework for the four phases of initiate, plan,
execute, and close.
Mr. Garimella said, “The workplace is still an
emotional setting, it need not be ruthless. We are not
robots, at least not yet. The manipulation inevitable
in human negotiations should benefit both the
Mr. Raj Kalady with the winning team
parties. For instance, build a cascaded project vision
and align it to personal goals, work on associates’
strengths and not weaknesses, and use positive provocations to evoke better ideas.”
The team cautioned against the ‘planning fallacy’ syndrome where one tends to incorrectly estimate outcomes. When a
subordinate performs well, the team recommended “praising the talent and not the individual and applying the same
correlation in case of a negative outcome.” When Mr. Varagan asked the audience if they wanted a perfectionist in their team,
the answer was an emphatic ‘no’, for it can be a roadblock to creativity.
Often, project managers may not have the requisite authority or power, yet are expected to influence people. “This is where
the science of persuasion comes into play and you can apply the principles of influence to accomplish the task,” stated Mr.
Garimella, again underscoring the importance of applied psychology for successful project management.
Runner up
Leveraging the Deployment Excellence Framework for
Effective Adoption of High Maturity Processes
Leveraging the Deployment Excellence Framework
for Effective Adoption of High Maturity Processes
was adjudged the second best technical paper to be
presented at the conference. It was authored by Mr.
Parag Saha, Mr. Pranabendu Bhattacharyya, and Mr.
Rajib Banerjee from TCS Ltd.
“Every time you try to deploy a process in an
organization, what does it take to ensure that people
wilfully adapt it?” asked Mr. Saha, pointing to an
archetypal challenge at the workplace. Based on their
work at TCS and through consulting engagements in
this area, the team came up with a list of techniques,
best practices, and lessons learned metrics on how
to ensure a winning deployment. They elucidated
their paper with real-life examples and case studies,
and provided a solution framework.
“Once you come up with an idea, you have to get Mr. Raj Kalady presenting the runner-up certificate to a team member people to like it. Different strokes work for different
folks. The greatest challenge is to consistently innovate and this comes at a price. If your overheads don’t earn you the
expected return on investment, then you are left with a disgruntled workforce. For successful deployment, bring in some
psychology, some math, and some statistics,” he added.
October 2014
19
Technical Papers
Below is a table of the rest of the technical papers presented:
Technical papers
authors
• Effective CMMi Implementation in Agile environment with fresh
team
Anjali Mogre and Sujata Salunkhe,
Atos
• Social Networking to promote Ethical Leadership
Alankar Karpe, Advisory Group
• Becoming the preferred partner
Mangesh Sardesai, Siemens
Technology and Services Private
Limited
• Project Management in Collaboration Age
Ashish Sadekar, ProThoughts
• Decision Analysis for successful Project Investment in midcourse of
BOT Infra Projects
Bhavesh Thakkar, Gammon India
Limited
• Effective Talent Management – Predictive model for skill based
forecasting
Piyush Jain, Infosys
• Concept Prototyping on PMAAS Suite (CPOPS)
Subhajit Bhattacharya, Accenture
• Innovations within Project Management and its Innovative
Applications
Vikas Dubey, CSC India
• Incubating Emerging Technologies – A Lever for Service Excellence
Shreyas Bhargava and Prasad
Ramanathan, IGATE Global Solutions
Ltd.
• Process - Way of Life
Dakshinamoorthi G., Cognizant
Technology Solutions
• Efficiency Enhancement for Distributed Agile Teams
Pavan Adipuram and Purnachandra
Moparthi, Tata Consultancy Services
Ltd.
• PM 3.0: What should the Gen-Next Project Manager focus on?
Rahul Ghodke, Microland Ltd.
• Next Generation Project/Program Manager
Namit Agarwal, Adobe Systems
• Never Too Big to Fail: How a Fusion Approach can Improve Chances
of Project Success
Gaurav Sapra, Namrata Ahuja, and
Kamal Kaher, Tata Consultancy
Services Ltd.
• Software Project Management: Distributed Agile Approach
Somdatta Banerjee and Ananda
Chakraborty, Cognizant Technology
Solutions
• Process Excellence for New Age Project Management
Sathish Nataraj, Prabal Ralhan, and
Chandramohan, Daimler India
• 10 Commandments of Project Success
J. V. Rao, Essar Projects India Ltd.
• Start it Right – a Focused Approach on Project Launch
Beebejan Valiyakath, IBM
• Using Social Networks in Project Management
Dattatraya Pathak, Aspect
Management Services Pvt. Ltd.
20
October 2014
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dvertiseMent
www.microsoft.com/project
Anticipate.
©2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
October 2014
September
2014
21
13
What Delegates Have to Say
“While I am a regular at the PMI Bangalore Chapter, this was my first time at a Project
Management National Conference. The biggest takeaways for me have been the sharing of best
practices and learning how to excel in the project manager’s role. I am impressed with the
unique ID tags given to delegates; the conference mobile app was an exciting innovation.”
— Mr. K. Gopal, Praxair, Bangalore
“The sessions were engaging and relevant. The speakers were definitely in alignment with
the audience and it was easy to connect their views with our own organizational experiences.
Innumerable networking opportunities under one roof was another huge advantage.”
— Mr. Neti Kiran Kumar, Tata Consultancy Services, Hyderabad
“Every year, ONGC sends 150-odd employees for the PMP qualification. The conference has driven
home the fact that project management has become part of our DNA, and that as we embed project
management in our lives, we must also work towards achieving sustainable growth.”
— Dr. Supriyo Guha, Deputy Manager (Chemical), Oil &
Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Delhi
“The conference introduced us to best practices followed by other organizations, real-life case
studies, expert insights, and networking opportunities. It was interesting to learn how other
companies leverage tools and techniques to get the best out of their projects.”
— Ms. Malabika Das, Microsoft, Hyderabad
“This is my first time at the national conference. My expectations were to gain information,
upgrade my technical knowhow, and take lessons from the experiences of other project
managers – I have met all these and more. Being an introvert by nature, this event helped me set
aside my reserve and interact with peers and seniors from varied backgrounds.”
— Ms. Gayatridevi Maslekar, CSC, Hyderabad
“The accumulated learning from the conference has been immense – be it the keynote addresses
by industry experts, the breakout sessions, and the case studies. This was my first time at a PMI
national conference. My colleague, Mr. Purnachandra Moparthi, and I presented a technical
paper on ‘efficacy enhancement in a distributed agile team’.”
— Mr. Pavan Adipuram, Tata Consultancy Services, Hyderabad
“Overall, attending the conference was a fantastic experience. The choice of speakers was
excellent. The event addressed the ‘delta’ of topics that are common to the entire gamut of projects
and across verticals. The format of the sessions enabled us to get the most out of the event.”
— Ms. Monica Mittal, United Health Group, Delhi
“As a student, getting to see hundreds of corporate head honchos and industry leaders in person
was awe-inspiring and greatly motivating.”
— Mr. Sourav Bhunia, BTech Student, Camellia Institute, Kolkata
22
October 2014
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October 2014
23
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20
1
4
Photo Gallery
◄ It’s time for the
PMI leaders to
come together for
the camera.
Conference sees high participation from the audience. ►
◄ Delegates get an opportunity to interact with speakers after each session.
Raj Kalady presenting memento to the PMI-ACP Quiz winner
Honey Gupta working for Kantar. ►
◄ PMI PCC volunteers at the National conference
October 2014
25
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October 2014
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